Chapter 1

Assumptions and Misconceptions on the Nature of Art – Reynaldo B. Inocian

Baguio City- The 1st Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2017.

Cebu City- The Creative City of design in 2019 by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)
strengthens a new form of governance of the cultural sector of our country (Salao, 2019)

This learning module exposes us to the Intended learning Outcomes (ILOs) that will set our soul free to
savor the finer aspect of life, from being desperate to hopeful.

Art Imagination and Expression

Imagination- is an abstraction of a certain thought or feeling that produces a good art based on reality
or experience (Hollick,2014)

Expression- is automatic response to it (imagination)

Unexpressed Imagination is not Art. It is not Art when an individual fails to realize the beauty and
utilitarian purpose.

Expression of Art can either be positive or negative. When both means and ends of art are constructive,
its expression enhances not only the individual’s quality of life which is essential to his or her progress
and development but also the life of others and the nation as well. When the means and ends of art
expression are destructive like the art of war, art may result to misery, hinder progress and development
and promote chaos.

Etymology and Definition of Art

Art is derived from a Latin term “ars” which means skill, talent or ability. In a broad sense, Art is skill in
making or doing something (The world book encyclopedia,1995).

Art is the expression of the creative skill and imagination in different genres for appreciation of beauty
and emotional power (Oxford online dictionary, 2020).

Misconceptions of Art:

1. The belief that someone is an artist and the rest are not.

2. The belief that art is only good for rich and famous.

3. The belief that art and craft have interchangeable meaning

Assumptions of Art:

1. Art is Universal and Timeless.

2. Art is not a Nature.

3. Art involves experience.

Creativity and Art appreciation

Imagination allows us to be creative in order to create scientific inventions and aesthetic innovations.

Creativity is a metacognitive skill- a form of divergent thinking that allows us to generate relationship,
integrate concepts, elaborate information, brainstorm issues with fluency, flexibility and originality
(Johnson, 2010).

Art allows us to imagine our past experiences and draws out feelings to appreciate beauty.

“Art is an expression of feelings and emotions; Craft is a form of work with the use of available materials”
Zulueta, (1994) rejoined that Art is beautiful rather than useful; while Craft is making something useful
more than beautiful, Art and Craft can be different but these two can be similar in some ways”

Art is expression of imagination; Craft is the realization of the expression. Art is tinged with a
psychological process; Craft provides utilitarian and mechanical process of creation.

The Humanities

As coined from the Latin words Humanus and Humanitas meaning humans, the field of humanities
provides human beings opportunity to think critically and creatively, in order to understand the values
and cultures of the world and to bring clarity to the future, (Stanford University Center, 2015)

The study of Humanities includes Philosophy, History, Art, Religion, Literature, Language and Music
(PHARLLM)

Philosophy is derived from the Greek words philos or phelien which means love and sophia, which
means wisdom.
History is derived from the Latin word historia, which means scribble and record the events from the
past.

Religion is derived from the Latin word religare or religio, which means to bind. It is a form of obligation
that binds the faithful with one Devine power. Religion enhances the art of meditation and reflection for
discernment, good judgement, self control, fortitude and sound decision-making process of the artist.

Literature is a derivative of a Latin word littera or litteratura, which means letter or knowledge of books.
It concentrates study of fiction like myths, epics, folktales, short stories, poems and drama. Non- fiction
deals with prose and narratives in essays, news, research, technical reports and other printed media
that depict cultural implications of people’s life in the society. Literature enhances the art of writing and
reading of an individual.

Language is derived from the Latin word lingua, which means tongue, language provides avenues for
better communication using the art of speaking and listening.

Techniques of auditory art; Oration, Declamation, Story telling, News reporting and Public speaking.

This auditory art is essential to promote understanding, peace and harmony in the society by listening to
individual voices either in print or audio media. Poor language communication breaks communities and
Sound language builds these communities to promote alliances.

Music is from the Greek word mousa, which means muse and the Latin word Musa which denotes the
goddess of music, to represent a song or poetry for appreciation of beauty beings the etymology of
music (Mansfield,1923). Music is the pleasing combination and succession of sounds, with or without
the use of musical instruments.

(To be continued)…….